"My mom gets so nervous for these races" - Gabby Thomas claims her mother 'doesn't like being in the stands' for her sprinting events

American sprinter Gabby Thomas recently stated that her mother, Jennifer Randall, feels even more anxious watching her compete than she herself does while racing. Thomas recently had her most successful Olympic campaign, winning three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Thomas won her first individual gold medal in the 200m in a time of 21.83s. This was her second medal in the discipline, having won the bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

She then played a crucial role in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams' gold-medal victories at the Paris Olympics, which the United States won with times of 41.78s and an American record of 3:15.27s, respectively. She previously won silver in the 4x100m event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Following her impressive Olympics campaign, Thomas interacted with Coy Wire, an American television anchor and sports correspondent, where she spoke about how anxious her mother gets during her competitions. The 27-year-old athlete said:

“My mom gets so nervous for these races. She's more nervous than I am. So she does not like being around people. She really does not even like being in the stands because she gets so nervous.”

Gabby Thomas has previously spoken about how she draws a lot of inspiration from her mother. At just 10 years old, she witnessed her mother, Jennifer Randall, relocating the family to Massachusetts to complete her own PhD while simultaneously continuing to teach.

Randall obtained her bachelor's degree in 1996 and her master's degree in 1999, both from Duke University, and earned her doctoral degree from Emory University in 2007.

Like her mother, Thomas also simultaneously pursued her track career and education together. She graduated from Harvard University, majoring in neurobiology and global health. She then went on to complete her master’s degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.

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A look into Gabby Thomas’ other top achievements

Gabrielle Thomas celebrates after winning the bronze medal in the 200m Final at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games on August 3rd, 2021. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Besides winning three gold medals at the Paris Olympics, Gabby Thomas had previously won a silver in the women’s 4x100m relay and a bronze in the 200m at the Tokyo Olympics. She is also a two-time World Championships medalist, including a gold in the women’s 4x100m relay and a silver in the 200m.

She also featured at the 2024 World Athletics Relays where she contributed to the USA teams’ victory in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay events. She also played a key role in helping the USA team qualify for the Paris Olympics in the 4x100m relay event.